Capitol Votes: Georgia delegation for week ending Mach 26, 2015

Here’s how Georgia’s congressional delegation voted this week:

HOUSE

INTERVENING IN UKRAINE: The House has passed a bill (H. Res. 162), sponsored by Rep. Eliot L. Engel, D-N.Y., calling on President Obama to provide lethal military aid to Ukraine’s government in its operations against separatists in eastern Ukraine. Engel said the conflict in Ukraine “poses the greatest threat to European security since World War II,” making it imperative that the U.S. act promptly to combat the danger of Russia occupying and dominating Ukraine, with resulting harm to U.S. interests and a peaceful, democratic Europe. The vote, on Monday, was 348 yeas to 48 nays.

YEAS: Rick Allen, R-12; Sanford Bishop, D-2; Buddy Carter, R-1; Doug Collins, R-9; Tom Graves, R-14; Jody Hice, R-10; Barry Loudermilk, R-11; Tom Price, R-6; Austin Scott, R-8; David Scott, D-13; Lynn Westmoreland, R-3; Bob Woodall, R-7

NAYS: Hank Johnson, D-4; John Lewis, D-5

CHANGING VA BUDGETING PROCESS: House has passed the Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Planning Reform Act (H.R. 216), sponsored by Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla. The bill would require the Veterans Affairs Secretary to annually submit to Congress a planned yearly budget for the VA, and require the secretary to review the budgeting process every four years. A supporter, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., said imposing more rigorous financial planning on the VA would require it to consider whether it has the resources available to meet its goals and provide checks and balances to increase budgeting discipline. The vote, on Tuesday, was unanimous with 420 yeas.

YEAS: Full delegation

PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS BUDGET PLAN: The House has rejected a substitute amendment sponsored by Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., to a bill (H. Con. Res. 27) to establish a fiscal 2016 budget. The budget plan, put forth by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, would have spent $820 billion on infrastructure projects, increased funding for student loans, established a public health insurance option for consumers, and increased corporate taxes and taxes on the wealthy. Ellison said the plan sought to create 8.4 million jobs and increase wages for the middle class, reducing the trend in this century of lower income for most Americans and higher costs for health care, housing, and education. An amendment opponent, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said the plan’s $2.8 trillion debt increase and $7 trillion tax increase over 10 years would place a heavy burden on all Americans, hurting the economy while weakening the nation’s finances. The vote, on Wednesday, was 96 yeas to 330 nays.

YEAS: Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

NAYS: Allen, Bishop, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

BLACK CAUCUS BUDGET PLAN: The House has rejected a substitute amendment sponsored by Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., to a bill (H. Con. Res. 27) to establish a fiscal 2016 budget. The budget plan, put forth by the Congressional Black Caucus, would have increased taxes by $2.7 trillion over the next 10 years, spent $500 billion on job creation programs, increased the minimum wage, and reduced the deficit by $1.9 trillion over 10 years. Butterfield said the plan sought to “increase economic opportunities for all Americans through significant and sustained investments in education and infrastructure, affordable housing, domestic manufacturing, small businesses, and job training.” An amendment opponent, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said the combination of increased spending and higher taxes would hurt the economy and add to the nation’s debt, while weakening security by cutting military spending $314 billion over 10 years. The vote, on Wednesday, was 120 yeas to 306 nays.

YEAS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

NAYS: Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

DEMOCRATIC BUDGET PLAN: The House has rejected a substitute amendment sponsored by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., to a bill (H. Con. Res. 27) to establish a fiscal 2016 budget. The amendment would have increased spending on infrastructure and education programs, expanded the child tax credit and earned income tax credit programs, expanded Medicare and Medicaid, and increased taxes on the wealthy. Van Hollen said it “supports working families in America and invests in our future” by reducing taxes for the working class, encouraging greater education, and promoting public health by preserving Obamacare. An amendment opponent, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said the plan’s $855 billion of new spending would move the government further away from a balanced budget despite increasing taxes by $1.9 trillion over 10 years, including higher taxes for small business and resulting harm to the economy. The vote, on Wednesday, was 160 yeas to 264 nays.

YEAS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

NAYS: Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

SPENDING ON WAR ON TERROR: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to a bill (H. Con. Res. 27) to establish a government budget for fiscal 2016. The amendment would increase fiscal 2016 funding for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and other areas involved in the war on terrorism from $94 billion to $96 billion, and eliminate a requirement for offsetting spending on the war on terrorism with spending cuts elsewhere. Price said $96 billion was the necessary level of spending to help the military accomplish its mission of ending terrorist threats. An amendment opponent, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said the increased spending was unnecessary. The vote, on Wednesday, was 219 yeas to 208 nays.

YEAS: Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott, Woodall

ESTABLISHING BUDGET LEVELS: The House has passed a bill (H. Con. Res. 27), sponsored by Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. The bill would set out a $2.9 trillion government budget for fiscal 2016 and planned budgets for fiscal 2017 through 2025. It would repeal the health care reform law, also known as Obamacare, repeal the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, increase state control over spending on Medicare and other federal programs, and cut domestic spending by $5.5 trillion over 10 years. Price called the budget a plan to establish a “more efficient, more effective, and more accountable” government that better promotes economic growth. A bill opponent, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., criticized it for inadequate investment in infrastructure, higher taxes for the middle class and higher costs for education and health care, and tax cuts for the wealthy. The vote, on Wednesday, was 228 yeas to 199 nays.

YEAS: Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

MEDICARE REFORM: The House has passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2), sponsored by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, R-Texas. The bill would repeal the sustainable growth rate formula for determining Medicare payments to medical providers and replace it with a system that links payments to the quality and value of care. It would also reauthorize through fiscal 2017 the Children